


The Curse

by Madyamisam



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh!
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Body Horror, Bugs & Insects, Creepy, Curses, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, I hate tags, M/M, Magical Realism, Many of them, Minor Character Death, Murder, Mystery, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Psychological Horror, Rape/Non-con Elements, Survival Horror, They spoil everything, Triggers, Yakuza
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-12
Updated: 2017-06-06
Packaged: 2018-10-31 00:15:51
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 5
Words: 14,534
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10887903
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Madyamisam/pseuds/Madyamisam
Summary: Jounouchi Katsuya comes to work, under a new name, as a caretaker for rich billionaire Seto Kaiba only to find out a sinister plot around the house of his new employer.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> This was first written for A Dragon's Lair Yahoo Group but I did not get around to finishing because it creeped me way too much to write it however I've decided to brave on and try to finish this. I'll be picking back up some other incomplete Yu-Gi-Oh stories I've written and posting them here but I'm too lazy to put any of my completed works on here at the moment (also I'm not sure they're of good enough quality as they were written years ago). If you are interested, please go to fanfiction.net or adultfanfiction.net for them and if you think they deserve to be on here on AO3 then let me know and I'll transfer them over onto this account as well.

 

“Hold it right there! Drop the weapon!” the detective shouted at the stranger dragging in the corpse of the infamous drug leader Hiwatari Usaki, a man whom she had been chasing for three long years with no leads, into the police station with one hand while holding a bloodied semi-automatic in the other. A gruesome trail of crimson lay behind the young teen as he stumbled in with the body. All the police officers trained their guns at the newcomer hiding their disgust at the state of the boy.

 

“Detective Segawa?” the stranger croaked, raising his head to meet the other‘s gaze. His eyes were blank and lifeless and his entire body was covered head to toe in dirt as if he had been wallowing in the mud for several hours. Parts of his face were swollen and the bleeding jagged cuts on his arms and temple started to fester. Five ugly finger shaped bruises were splayed across the teen’s wrist. Large spatters of fresh blood from his kill painted his face and torso. The droplets dripped down from the tresses of his stained hair whilst his back was covered in shards of glass. Recognition and horror met the woman’s face as the blood soaked teen let go of the dead man’s tie. She further cringed when her gaze went towards the dried up white stain on the boy’s pants that was still visible in spite of the layers of dirt on top of it and she could just about make out the wooden splinters painfully embedded underneath the nails of the teen’s fingers. “Didn’t you get my messages?”

 

“I did just now,” the detective whispered as guilt and frustration welled inside her. She glared at the young officer who had passed her the information so flippantly. Her rage burned as she remembered how the man had passed it off like it had been some kind of a joke to her, mimicking the teen’s cries in a taunting manner. Aware of his superior’s fury, the said officer swallowed nervously whilst attempting to look professional in spite of the evident revulsion in his face and the shaking gun in his hands. “I went to find you as soon as I heard, I swear.”

 

“You said you’d help me whenever I called. You said you’d be there for me.”

 

“Yes, I did.” Segawa whispered as tears filled her eyes. The boy had been like a son to her for a long time. She loved his determination, his honesty and how he took everything that life dealt him in his stride and it broke her heart to see him so devastated and desperate.

 

“I did that. I called you. I called but y- you never came like you promised” the conviction of betrayal was evident in the teen’s voice. Segawa abandoned all protocol and walked slowly towards the trembling boy, her gun aiming towards the boy’s shoulder in case he tried to use the semi-automatic.

 

“I know, I’m sorry I failed you,” the detective said as a single tear ran down her face. “I know it’s a lot to ask but, please, will you trust me just one more time?” She was met with silence as the young teen thought about her request.

”I killed him.” The young man whispered casting his gaze towards the corpse. Segawa could tell the shot that killed the drug lord had been an impulsive one and at close range. Half of Hiwatari’s head was blown off leaving a gaping hole where the man’s left eye should have been. The other side of the man’s was just as gruesome as the muscles were contorted to a look of surprise whilst a blank green eye stared up at the ceiling. The detective knew this was most definitely an act of self-defence on the teen’s part.

 

“I have a pretty good idea why, the courts won’t hold you against that,”

 

“They won’t have to,” the teen whispered staring at the weapon in his hand before slowly pressing the tip of the bloody barrel to his temple. The detective’s heart stopped at what the boy was about to do.

 

“Katsuya please don’t!” Segawa cried out, using the boy’s given name out of impulse. She lowered her own gun and pocketed into the holster on her left side.  Jounouchi Katsuya stared numbly at the woman as he listened to her reason, the tip of the weapon still pressed against head. “That bastard deserved a lot worse than death. He has destroyed so many innocent lives, killed so many people and has gotten away with it. Please Katsuya, don’t let him win anymore. Don’t add yourself to that body count.”

 

“What can I do now though?” Jounouchi whispered, his hand trembling slightly as tears escaped his eyes. Segawa heart ached for him as her mind wracked desperately to prevent him from committing suicide.

 

“A lot, you can do so much more if you live.” The detective answered holding out her hand. “Please, I beg you. I beg you to trust me one more time. Please give me the gun and let me help you.” Segawa stared pleadingly at the teen, the guilt, frustration and anguish evident in her eyes as she stared into blank and lifeless brown ones. However, Jounouchi finally relented and slowly he removed the gun away from his head and placed it in the woman’s hands. The instant, the cold metal of the weapon touched her hand, relief swept over her and she smiled placing a loving hand on the boy’s swollen cheek. The teen’s legs began to buckle and he sunk to floor. Segawa instantly supported him trying not to cause further injury to the boy. She allowed him to rest on his side to avoid the glass being pushed further into his back whilst he used her lap as a pillow. Segawa stroked the bloodstained hair tenderly and glared at the one of the officers who came closer holding a pair of handcuffs.

 

“Fuck off!” she growled making her subordinates cringe and back away. “Somebody call a God damn ambulance!”

 

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

“I understand that you still have school to attend to. You will need to get a permit from the principal that you can work here. We have enough trouble dealing with allegations of employing minors ‘legally’ as it is.” Menashi, the butler, snapped as he bustled down the huge hallway, the echoes of his swank and polished black shoes pounding on the marble floor

“Don’t worry, I’ve got it.” Jounouchi muttered. The older man huffed at the teen’s insolent tone but kept silent as he made a run down of all the other duties that the blond had to do. 

"Now listen carefully, Wheeler-san,” Menashi explained, when the teen stopped to gawk at his surroundings. “Wheeler-san?”When he heard no response from the teen, he let out an impatient sigh. “Mr Wheeler?” The butler didn’t like having to refer to people by their given name but it seemed it wasn’t the case for Americans “Joey!”

“Sorry,” Jounouchi replied, bowing apologetically. He was still getting grips with the new name he was going to be serving under. The butler looked surprised.He received many foreigners into the household so he often had to deal with the unfamiliarity of how they were addressed but it almost seemed that the teen before him didn’t even recognise his own given name at times. Even though the boy looked American with his flaxen hair and appeared to have a rather brawly attitude, he seemed quite withdrawn and spoke without even a hint of an accent. 

“Well, perhaps it’s just the customs you’re not used to,” he commented, as he continued the tour for the new live-in employee. Another thing that puzzled him was that the blond seemed so distracted and irritable, as if Death himself was following the boy, just waiting for him to slip up somewhere. “The hours are odd here but it is only because it revolves around Kaiba-sama’s schedule. During the weekdays, your morning duties will start at six am breakfast before you go to school, then you will attend to duties for two hours for your evening duties after school at seven pm. You will need to tidy the main dining room, sitting and study and you will be required to serve Kaiba-sama’s meals sharply on time. In the weekends you will be required to work through the day from seven till six. In exchange, you will have house and board, which is located on the first floor on the east wing, plus the evenings off on a Monday and Friday. Did you get all that?” 

“Uh huh, I mean… yes sir.” Menashi nodded approvingly, allowing a small smile on his lips before turning sharply to the right. He pointed towards the door.

“You can clean this study for today,” the teen blinked as Menashi passed him a duster, clicked his heels and walked away; when he stopped short. “One more thing, during the late hours, don’t wonder around unless it’s absolutely necessary and also always lock your door when you turn in for the night,” Jounouchi swallowed at the implications. Whoever his employer was, this Kaiba person was risking a lot in taking him in, especially with people like ‘them’. 

“I see,” he said. Menashi wondered why the boy wasn’t even too curious about the reason why, like most of the employees were when they first started. Nevertheless, he decided to explain. 

“Let’s just say nasty occurrences tend to happen here in the Kaiba household during the twilight hours and I take the health and safety of the staff quite seriously, so remember to do so alright?” Jounouchi nodded as he entered into the study. It was a large room with huge pane windows letting the light of a bright full moon illuminate the inside of the study. A mantle clock chimed seven o’clock, breaking the deathly silence in the air. The interior was laden with books, a large table with a leather chair and a sitting area by the window. There, seated forlornly by the window was a young man possibly no older than the blond was, staring out of the window. The blond teen raised an eyebrow in confusion; he was expecting the place to be empty but then perhaps the butler had arranged some help so he could get the job done quicker. 

“Um, do you work here?” he asked hesitantly, to check. The young man, whose deep blue eyes stared out in a dream like daze blinked and turned, clearly surprised that another was present. The light from the moon made his dark brown hair glisten whilst casting part of his face in shadow. His face looked pale, bordering on sickly, belying the athletic physique in his stature. He was wearing a navy blue trench coat an emerald green shirt and black pants underneath. Jounouchi suddenly felt awkward when the brunet remained silent and stared at him as if he was an animal in a zoo. “Hello? Do you speak Japanese?”

“Kaiba Seto, I’m the owner of this household,” snapped the brunet irritably, turning his head back to the window. Jounouchi blinked, surprise written on his face. He had expected Kaiba to be a lot older, at least in his late twenties, but certainly not the same age as he is. “Why are you staring at me as if you’ve got a half a brain?” Jounouchi snapped out of his stupor and his hot temper flared almost instantly. He was about to retort with an insult but decided to bite his tongue and stare at the floor instead. Jounouchi had learned never to allow his own pride to get the best of him again, it had gotten him in trouble enough times with the wrong kind of people and it would be just plain ungrateful to the other teen who had offered to help protect his wretched and dirty life. 

“Sorry to disturb you Kaiba-san,” he said, grimacing inwardly at the use of the honorific, but at least he would be able to stomach it better than what the other servants usually called the brunet. 

“Just get on with your cleaning and don’t disturb me while you’re at it” Jounouchi nodded, saying nothing more as he started polishing the table and the bookcase. The blond couldn’t remember when he began throwing occasional glances at Kaiba sitting by the window as he worked, but he was well aware that said brunet had stopped staring out the window ever since he came in. From the glances he could see that the brunet’s attention was all on him, his blue eyes gazing up and down the blond’s body. Jounouchi swallowed, as he rubbed harder at the already clean mantelpiece clearly perturbed by the staring. He turned his attention back onto Kaiba and was surprise when he noticed the tumult of emotions that flashed in the blue sapphires, it was a small but intense moment laced with fury, lust and longing. It was strange how the blond could tell when the other’s face seemed to remain stoic. Katsuya gulped as the other teen shifted off the window seat and sauntered closer to him. Trying not to be unnerved by the young man fixated on him he turned to glare at the shiny mahogany study desk that he was cleaning. He watched as a dark shadow crept up the study desk. He spotted a paper knife sitting just within his reach of the desk. Jounouchi could feel how uncomfortably close the other was, to the extent that he could feel Kaiba’s breath upon his neck. He slowly turned and was caught in the fervent, icy cobalt gaze. 

“What is it Kaiba-san?” he whispered, as the other teen was merely inches away from him. Katsuya tried to look down on the floor like he had done earlier only to have the brunet catch his chin with a slender finger and lift it up forcing the blond to stare into his eyes. Jou swallowed as his russet eyes became lost in a deep sea of blue and he suddenly felt weak in the knees, as if his very soul had been sucked right out of his body by those eyes. Held there by his gaze, Kaiba let go of the blond’s chin and drew his mouth closer to other’s sumptuous lips, till they were almost touching. Jounouchi could feel the heat of the taller teen’s hand hover around his tanned cheek, barely centimetres away from touching. As if he had jumped into a pool of cold water, Katsuya backed away from the far too close brunet. An arrogant smirk appeared on Kaiba’s face as he back away from the younger teen. 

“You’re quite cocky Jounouchi Katsuya,” he commented. “Scared shitless… but cocky… and certainly not as vulnerable as Detective Bitch said you were,”

“What?” The billionaire rolled his eyes, folding his arms out of impatience. 

“Detective Segawa,” he drawled. “She told me all about you and your… past.” Katsuya shifted unconsciously wrapping his arms around his body and right shoulder. Kaiba smirked again clearly amused by the blond’s discomfort. “As I said, you’re not as vulnerable as she said you’d be, in fact… I bet if I actually went about touching you a moment ago, you wouldn’t hesitate in stabbing me with that paper knife you have in your hand there, now would you?” Jounouchi gasped as he suddenly found the paper knife he saw on the desk gripped firmly in his hand. Realising what could have happened he hastily threw the weapon back onto the desk.Kaiba grinned as he sauntered towards the door. “As much as I can understand your anxiety, I’m surprised that you fell for my little act. My interest may well be that with men but I’m afraid pup, you’re not my type.” 

“Sorry,” he said, belying the anger and humiliation towards the brunet for pulling a sick trick like he did. 

“I can guarantee you that the people after you will have a lot of trouble finding you here, let alone killing you, but in the mean time try to look like that you’re actually working for me rather than some lost dog missing it’s master’s leg.”Kaiba chuckled sadistically before he sauntered out of the room. Just as he left, Menashi had returned. The butler bowed low as he allowed his employer to exit first before entering himself. 

“I hope you haven’t bothered the young master whilst you were working,” the man warned, as he checked the room. Jounouchi looked on miserably as the butler ran a gloved hand across every surface for even a speck of dust. He wondered how long he would have to stay here and be bossed around by these people. ‘But then, what else can you do?’ the voice in his mind questioned almost tauntingly at his predicament. Katsuya growled at the voice in his head and focused on the prospect of a shower and bed. That is, if the nightmares he’d been having lately would let up for once tonight. “Well done, it’s good to see that you’re thorough on the work. Not a single speck of dust in sight. Go on up to your room now, you’re done for the night,” Heaving a sigh of relief for the reprieve, Jounouchi headed towards his designated room.

The room was one of the smaller ones in the mansion but it was still spacious compared to the small apartment he used to share with his father, thankfully it was also an en-suite so he wouldn’t really need to bother anyone with his presence. He found it odd that a mere servant had such privileges but he wasn’t complaining. Grabbing a towel, he stripped himself of his sweaty day clothes and stepped into the shower. Almost instantly, he felt the comfort of the water caress his body and sighed from the warm bliss of having the tension and dirt washed away. He hesitated when his hand brushed against the marred skin on his shoulder. Glancing behind him he noted with a morbid fascination, the pattern of the scars across his entire back and the painful history that went with them. Berating himself for thinking about the past again, Jounouchi soaked his blonde locks root to tip before lathering it up with shampoo gently massaging the silken tresses, relaxing into the heat of the water. So engrossed in his thoughts, he barely felt the air in the room growing colder. As he rinsed the lather away though, he felt a sudden and icy chill run up and down his spine. Turning around he wiped the condensation from the clear polythene screen that encapsulated the shower and peered around the room. The door was closed and the open window was on the far side of the room, so any sudden breeze would have instantly warmed up by the time it reached him. He gulped as the words of Menashi came back to him. Perhaps the butler was just trying to scare him. Plus, the cruel trick that Kaiba pulled was still fresh in his mind. He shook his head and berated himself for his own gullibility. Nonetheless, he tried to finish quickly, ignoring another cold chill down his spine and rushed out of the shower into his room. Remembering the butler’s words, he locked the door to his room and even closed the door entering the bathroom. Changing quickly into his pyjamas he dove into the large bed and wrapped the covers around himself. He closed his eyes, willing himself to sleep in spite of the seemingly loud ticks of his bedside clock.

Another cold chill made him shiver and he peeked over the covers staring at the closed door. His breath was heavy, as if he had just run a marathon, whilst his senses sharpened and the rapid beating of his heart thumped loudly in his ears. The light by his bedside was dim and had cast many shadows in the room. Wrapping the covers tighter around him, Katsuya closed his eyes, if Menashi was trying to scare him; he was successful on this night. He shuddered from the unnatural cold that came over him. As the blond tried to calm his senses, he became aware that his breathing was starting to become erratic. Taking a deep breath in an attempt to stave off from the verge of a panic attack, he braved another glance and opened his eyes again to scan the room. The air had indeed gotten cold, as he saw wisps of his warm breath drift from his mouth and the sounds of rubbing carapaces reached his ears. There was a loud slam against his door, as if someone or something was trying to barge its way in to his room. As the noises became more voracious, he felt his voice being constricted and his breathing becoming erratic. Another bang on the door was heard, as his irregular breaths turned into a strangled croak. A third slam and a blood red handprint suddenly appeared on the far wall of the room. Katsuya’s eyes widened as he was frozen on the spot, as if someone had grabbed him by the arms and held him down while the feeling of gnarly fingers were wrapped tightly around his throat. Another bloody handprint appeared on another side of the wall as the sounds continued on. His bed shook slightly and the bangs on the door became more violent. Whoever or whatever was behind it was getting more frustrated. ‘Surely someone could hear that?’ Katsuya thought, when the last ram on the door broke the lock. The door flung open, slammed on the wall then rebounded shut again. A final bloody handprint was stamped on the other side of the door then slid down; leaving a long trail that ran down towards the floor. The rubbing carapaces turned into a frenzied scuttling of tiny bodies. Feeling light headed from lack of oxygen; Jou could only look down upon his sheets, it was littered with maggots, beetles, centipedes, spiders and other insects, as if someone had dumped a bucketful onto his lap as a cruel prank. Beyond the insects, there was a croak and dark shadow slowly emerged from the foot of the bed. Trying to focus despite the restriction of oxygen, he saw clearly, a defined body of black. It was a human figure, possibly with hair covering the majority of the face. Two eyes appeared staring unblinking at him, large and curious, almost like a child’s. The figure got onto the bed and crawled ever so slowly towards him whilst the insects crushed under the figures weight, leaving a trail of shell and pus-like insides. Drawing up close, the dark figure was mere centimetres away from the blond, sniffing at him curiously. Jounouchi tensed as he stared into the wide eyes that came with an unnatural colour of blue. The blond tried to call for help one last time, which only resulted in a strangled croak, as the constricting tightness around his neck didn’t leave him. The figure sniffed inquisitively, at the blond’s neck and hair before turning back to stare at the terrified amber eyes. The blue eyes widened as a large and psychotic Cheshire cat grin appeared amidst the dark to accompany the eyes, and the figure drew closer, allowing a black and slimy tongue run up and along the blond’s cheek, whilst black hands stroked his long neck.

“Don’t worry,” it said, grabbing a handful of maggots and sprinkling them on Jou’s face. “These little things are here to keep you company, the ‘only’ thing they feed on is dead and rotting flesh so, as you can see they won’t start eating you yet and by the time they do, it wouldn’t matter to you anyway, now would it?” the voice had been nothing more than a whisper but Jounouchi seemed all too familiar with the threat to his life. Suddenly the figure was gone and the space around Jou had shrunk, encompassing his body with only half a feet surrounding him on all sides. A small light lit up and Jou realised where he was, the maggots writhed and wriggled around him and he tried to keep them away from crawling their way into his ears and nose. A whimper escaped his lips as he watched his hands shake. A single maggot had managed to crawl its way up his arm and Jou winced, as the ugly creature seemed to embed itself into the soft tissue in his hand. His eyes widened as the white worm wriggled and squirmed underneath his skin. The last thing he remembered was the sound of his screaming, as he banged his fist against the wooden lid of his coffin until finally he sat up smacking the wretched insects away from his face. 

Jounouchi sat in his bed gasping constantly checking his bed for signs of the insects, his face laden with sweat. He let out a big sigh as he flopped back into a lying position on the bed, placing his face into his hands, willing away the last vestiges of his nightmare. When his heart finally steadied, he felt for his bedside clock on the table and squinted at the luminous hands. It was only two o’clock in the morning, a good few hours before he needed to get up for work however, he couldn’t go back to sleep, one nightmare a night is bad enough as it was. Groaning, the blond got out of his bed and headed towards the bathroom for another shower. It was going to be a long wait until five o’clock and worse of all, it was going to be his first day in school. When he finally waited out the agonizingly long three hours he got himself ready then went to unlock his door to go out. His eyes widened when he noted the splinters of wood and the broken lock.


	3. Chapter 3

“Hmm, this has never happened before,” Menashi commented casually, examining the shattered lock as Jou swept up the splinters with the dustpan and brush.

 

“Did you hear anything strange last night?”  He asked gathering larger bits of wood, as the thoughts of his horrifying nightmare were still fresh in his mind.

 

“No, but I think I can explain the broken lock. Because of the size of this mansion, new employees tend to feel quite intimidated on their first day and a few of our regular staff take it upon themselves to exploit that by playing practical jokes. Of course one particular individual tends to take it a little too far sometimes and this just happens to be one of them.” Menashi scowled pocketing the broken lock with a frustrated sigh. He graced the blond with a small smile. “Don’t worry, I’ll have a firm word with that prankster.  I swear if he weren’t such a diligent worker, I’d have asked Kaiba-sama to fire him on the spot. That was the reason why I suggested you to lock your door at night, at least for the first week or so. The door will be fixed by tonight. In the meantime you should get on with your work then get ready for school”

 

“So… you really didn’t hear anything last night?”

 

“Not a thing. Why?”

 

“Nothing, just my imagination I guess,” Jounouchi said as he finished picking up the last few pieces of wood off the floor,”

 

“Careful now, you’ll get a splinter that way,” the butler scowled at Jounouchi. It seemed that Menashi had started warming up to him in spite of his strictness the night before. As the older man strolled away, Jou stared at his callous and ruined fingers and noticed a single piece of timber that had been embedded into a scarred forefinger.  Without even a flinch he plucked it out of the hardened skin before sweeping the last of the wood from the floor.

 

\---

 

“Hi you’re the newbie, Joey from America aren’t you? Name’s Matsuki Kenta,” jibed the young chef when Jounouchi jogged into the kitchen to finish off his chores before he would have to leave for school. Kenta reminded Jou a lot like of a young stocky brunet called Honda that used to hang around him all the time when he was still in middle school. Honda was an honest kid with a good background, loving parents and an elder sister however; the brunet had obviously chosen the wrong person to look up to as a friend and role model. Jou had tried hard to shake the brunet from following him around like a sheep and although Jou regretted having pushed the boy away, the last thing he wanted was for Honda to tarnish that perfect life by doing something he’d regret if he hung around Jou for too long. “You look a little bit pale there, I told Shota not to play anymore of his pranks, he really goes too far sometimes.”

 

“I was sort of warned by Menashi about it yesterday,” Jou answered downing a glass of water and checking his bag.

 

“Yeah but still, the guy went too far this time, I’ll give him a good thrashing for ya. Why don’t I rustle up some fried egg and rice for breakfast ne?”

 

“No thanks, just bring out Kaiba’s breakfast so I can lay it out. I need to go to school,”

 

“School? That’s a bit early,”

 

“Not really, it’ll take thirty to forty minutes for me to walk there,”

 

“Oh come on, I’m sure Kaiba-sama will give you ride as well,” the blond’s eyebrows were furrowed with confusion.

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“Didn’t you know you’re attending the same high school he is?”  Kenta chortled at the confused look on the blond’s face. “Don’t worry, I’m sure Kaiba-sama will give you a ride to school with him if you asked nicely. Now why don’t you sit down and have some breakfast.”

 

“I’m fine, is Kaiba’s meal ready yet? ” Jou said irritably.

 

“Nearly done, just the miso soup left.” Kenta assured as he turned back to work. The two were silent for a moment as the man waited for the soup to cook. “Although, having said that, between you and me what’s your first impression about our boss?” the chef asked as he prepared the meal and whispered to the teen.

 

“Annoying,” Jou replied leaning against the wall impatiently waiting for Kenta to finish cooking. The chef chuckled.

 

“Well, let’s hope that’s all he is,” he mused stirring the soup “I heard some strange rumour about him and how he managed to be the boss of this huge company at such a young age. Apparently, the former master of this household Kaiba Gozaboro was really interested in a lot of weird shit.”

 

“What kind of weird shit?” Jou scoffed as he waited impatiently for the food.

 

“You know, weird. Black magic, voodoo whatever you call it,” the chef gesticulated, some of the soup the ladle he was using spilled as he explained.

 

“So?”

 

“So… one day Seto, our current master managed to somehow take over by acquiring 51% of the shares for his father’s company making him the new CEO. Right afterwards, old man Kaiba kicked the bucket. Suffered a major heart attack from the shock.” Kenta suddenly looked grave as he watched the soup simmer slightly. “But they say just before he died, he had put a curse on his traitorous son and something weird happens to Kaiba-sama every single night,” Jou pushed himself off the wall as he listened intently, feeling his breath hitch as the chef continued his story.

 

“What happens?” he asked. Kenta stared grimly at the young teen before cracking a grin on his face.

 

“He turns into a werewolf and mauls someone to death,” he chortled as Jou rolled his eyes leaning back against the wall. “Just kidding with ya Wheeler-san.” Kenta smiled heartily as he laid out two bowls of rice, miso soup and two plates of grilled fish onto a silver tray. Jou wondered why there was a meal for two people but easily balanced the huge tray in one hand and headed towards the dining table. He was met with surprise when a young boy of twelve smiled up at him brightly from his red velvet chair. Kaiba was sitting a little further along the huge table completely ignoring the blond coming into the room. The newspaper in his hand rustled as he turned the page and he pushed the small pair of reading glasses higher up the bridge of his nose. He paused briefly for the cup of black coffee by his side and sipped on it before setting it down again. Jou approached slowly as he set the meal down before the two of them.

 

“You’re the new caretaker aren’t you?” the child asked putting his elbows on the table and resting his head in his hands.

 

“Take your elbows off the table, Mokuba,” Seto chastised rustling the newspaper in his hands again. Mokuba pouted as he sat back in his chair.

 

“Yeah, I am,” Jou replied timidly, as he laid Kaiba’s food down whilst the younger boy tucked into his breakfast.

 

“No need to get nervous Jounouchi-kun. The Yakuza aren’t going to come near you while you’re under Nii-sama’s protection. You’re safe here even though Nii-sama was being mean to you yesterday,” The brunet merely rolled his eyes to the comment as the only indication that he was actually listening to the conversation.

 

“Nii-sa-… so… you’re brothers?”  Mokuba nodded enthusiastically as his chopstick cut into the fillet of fish on his plate. “Nii-sama’s the youngest CEO of the world’s most technologically advanced gaming company, so he makes a lot of enemies and the Yakuza are one of them.”

 

“I see,” Jounouchi said. Silence followed as Jounouchi stood by as two brothers ate.

 

“Haven’t you got something else to do?” Kaiba spoke up for the first time. The reading glasses he had on rested on the folded up newspaper.

 

“Um… I was wondering, I heard we were going to same school right?”

 

“Unfortunately,” Seto retorted.

 

“I was wondering if it was ok if I can hitch a ride for today, I don’t know the area outside the mansion very well after all,”

 

“Sure you-“ Mokuba chirped but was cut off by his elder brother.

 

“Since when have you ever seen a servant ride in the same mode of transport with his master?” the brunet scoffed an arrogant smirk appearing on his face. “I recall I was only required to offer a safe house for you to hide from the Yakuza. I don’t remember being asked to baby-sit you,” The blond remained silent feeling conscious of the disgust and revulsion from the other teen. Although humiliated and angry, the blond resigned to the fact of his situation. ‘It’s not unexpected after all I am… dirty…’ he thought miserably.

 

“In that case, unless there’s anything else you need I take my leave now. I’ll be late for school otherwise,” the blond hurried away, unaware of the surprised look on the brunet’s face or his younger brother scowling at him. Jounouchi quickly got directions from Menashi before he headed on his way. The walk however did some good as he breathed the crisp clean air of the quiet neighbourhood. He had been halfway there when he noticed a limo drive past towards the direction to the school. Luckily, he had made it just as the school bell rang.

 

\---

 

“Class we have a new transfer student, he’s name is Joey Wheeler and his from America. Please make him feel welcome,” Makitori Hanso said warmly as he welcomed the young blond into his class.

 

“Yo,” was all Jounouchi said waving his hand casually adding a slight bow in his greeting. The blond teen wondered why Detective Segawa insisted on giving him a foreign identity. Although he was half and half, his mother being an American and his father Japanese, Jounouchi had never set foot on American soil before. He was met with many friendly smiles and a number of the female members of the class giggling.

 

“He’s so cute,” he heard one of them whisper. He caught sight of a number of strange looking people including two pairs of twins. The first two seemed normal enough with the exception of the long white hair and that one of them had a strange glint in his eye that looked as if he was about to come and bite him at any moment. The other pair however, looked even more outrageous, both their hairstyles were spiked up in red, yellow and black. Katsuya wondered why such a hairstyle was even allowed. The elder of the twins appeared to look older than he actually was whilst his brother appeared to be more like a Mokuba’s age with huge eyes that encompassed two thirds of his face. There had been one person in the entire class, thankfully to whom he was familiar with, even though the blond was not particularly fond of said person. Kaiba sat right at the back of the room, arms folded and not a single hair out of place. The brunet glared at him as Makitori-sensei directed him to his seat. Jou tried to ignore the other’s icy stare, staring ahead as Makitori-sensei explained the logistics of trigonometric identities. Willing himself to relax he tried to concentrate on the lesson in spite of his urge to start doodling all over his new notepad. He jumped in his seat when he felt someone prod him in the waist. 

 

“Hi my names Yugi,” the younger of the tri colour headed twins whispered, a friendly smile on his face as he held out his hand in a handshake. “Nice to meet you,” Jou took the offered hand and received an enthusiastic shrug. “Want to hang out with me and my friends during lunch?” the other asked.

 

“Uh…”

 

“Motou-san, Wheeler-san please pay attention,” the teacher scowled. The small boy winced as he stared at the board again and Jounouchi was left to contemplate whether he should take up on Yugi’s offer or not. It was not long before Yugi was distracted again, this time by the vibrating cell phone in his pocket. Hiding it from view, he clicked to check the text message he had just received. Smiling, his thumb flew over the keys on his mobile as he relayed his own message back to the sender. Katsuya could just hear the vibrating sound of another phone going off and he turned to find Kaiba answering it. The blond’s heart fell as he realised whom one of Yugi’s ‘friends’ were. No doubt, the brunet was going to try to warn his friend to stay away from him but on the other hand it just made things a little easier for Jou to reject the younger boy should he ask about lunch again.

 

The lessons dragged on but Jounouchi tried his best to absorb as much as he could. He was already a couple of months behind everyone else in the school and it took his mind off his current situation for the time being. Eventually, it was lunchtime and Jounouchi decided to head for the library since he had neither a lunchbox nor any money to buy something to eat. Not that he felt particularly hungry lately. He hesitated when he saw that tri colour headed midget hanging around with his brother, the other pair of twins and Kaiba. Jounouchi tried to keep his distance away and hoped that he wouldn’t be seen however, Yugi quickly spotted him as he tried to sneak out of the door.

 

“Wheeler-kun!” Yugi chirped jogging towards him. “Come on, come have lunch with us. I’d like to introduce you to my friends Yami, Ryou, Bakura and Seto,” the smaller boy tugged the blond towards the group. Kaiba was leaning against one of the lockers, his arms still folded looking a little annoyed. Yugi’s twin who was next to him however had a small smile graced on his lips whilst exchanging defiant glares with the brunet.   


“Um…”

 

“Hey you, what’s America like?” the strange psychotic albino twin asked. Jou remained silent as the Yugi pulled him into the group before drawing himself close to his twin. “What’s the matter? You a mute or something?”

 

“Kura’,” his twin berated. “Ignore him Wheeler-san, Bakura tends to be quite rough around new people but he’s wonderful once you get to know him, my names Ryou by the way,” Yugi pulled his twin away from the lockers and hugged the other’s waist.

 

“This is my boyfriend Yami and that guy brooding over there by the lockers is Seto,”

 

“Nice to meet you,” the teen called Yami said shaking the blond’s hand. Jounouchi shook hands with the guy awkwardly.

 

“I could have sworn that you two were brothers,” he commented.

 

“You’re not the first to think that, it’s the same with Ryou and Bakura, everyone thinks they’re twins, although they’re nothing like, so don’t worry, “

 

“Well we better hurry, else there’s gonna be a long line at the cafeteria.”  Yugi chirped as he literally bounced down the hallway followed quickly by his boyfriend. Ryou and Bakura followed which only left the blond and Kaiba trailing behind.

 

“Why did you leave so soon this morning? I wasn’t finished talking to you,” Kaiba said as they walked together towards the cafeteria.

 

“I was going to be late on my first day in school,” Jou scowled, his temper flared in defiance. He reigned in on his anger looking away from the taller teen. “Look, if you have a problem with me hanging around with your friends, I’ll go ok?” Seto glared at the younger teen and was about to throw another insult towards him when Yugi interrupted him.

 

“Oh how rude, I forgot to ask you what kind of food you like.” The small hyperactive teen grinned and everyone turned their attention on the blond again.   


“I…”

 

“Wheeler-san!” Makitori called jogging towards him. “There’s someone that would like to meet you, would you care to come with me to the principal’s office?” For the first time in his life, Katsuya was grateful to be called into the principal’s office and he eagerly jumped at the chance to get away from Kaiba for a few hours.

 

“Sure,” he said as he followed the teacher. Yugi groaned and pouted as he watched the blond leave.

 

“Maybe next time?” Jounouchi said allowing a small smile to grace his lips. The disappointed teen grinned again in response.

 

“Ok, that’s a promise though ne?” he asked. Jou merely nodded as he followed Makitori down the corridor trying to hide his eagerness to get away from the group. It left him wondering who wanted to meet him all of a sudden and on his first day in school. When he entered, the office, he sighed as he recognised a familiar and friendlier face.

 

“Hi!” Detective Yomiko Segawa hollered, flicking her curly black hair, which was normally tied up in a ponytail. She uncrossed her legs and pushed she herself off the sofa, an affectionate grin graced her lips as she ruffled the blond teen’s golden hair. “How about I treat you out to lunch?”

 

\---

 

“Eat up, your going a bit too far trying to pull off the walking dead look there,” Yomiko ordered as the waitress placed a large plate of steak and chips in front of the blond. “How’s school?”

 

“It’s my first day, can’t really say yet,” Jounouchi replied nibbling on a chip. “What’s been happening over in Tokyo?”

 

“Well, we were trailing a potential witness to testify against a drug dealer we caught but unfortunately we lost him. He got gunned down trying to make a run for it to New York with stolen drug money he made off of the Yakuza. They don’t take kindly to  swindlers.” Yomiko explained as she started cutting the chicken breast.

 

“What’s the man’s name?” The detective paused in mid-chew of her meal. She swallowed awkwardly and took a sip of her glass of water.

 

“Jounouchi Daisuke,” she replied solemnly. Katsuya settled his knife and fork on the plate as he contemplated his father’s death.   


“I guess you came to ask for me to testify instead since my dad’s out of the picture?”

”No,” Yomiko replied flicking her curls behind  her back. “We already have enough evidence to convict those bastards, it’s just the problem of finding them ‘is all. I just came to tell you about him because I figured you’d want me to and also to check how you were doing,” The blond made no response.

 

“I’m fine,”

 

“The hell you are,” the woman hissed. “Do you think I’m blind and stupid or something. Do you think I don’t know that you’ve been wandering around like a zombie the past two weeks?” Katsuya leaned back against chair unconsciously grabbing his shoulder as he looked away from the woman. “Why aren’t you cooperating with the therapists like I told you to?”

 

“I don’t need nor want to talk to a shrink ok?”

 

“Why not? I told you this guy’s good and if any body could help you he could-“

 

“I don’t even remember what happened!” Katsuya snarled forcing the woman.  He hesitated casting a nervous glance at the other customers before he continued. “So forgive me for being a little sceptical for thinking that just sitting down and having a chat with Mr Freud is not going to get me anywhere but a trip to the psych ward.”

 

“That’s not going to happen. They can find ways to try to help process the incident for better coping strategies.“

 

“But I don’t want to remember.” Jou rasped. When he realised he was getting hysterical, he took a couple of deep breaths to calm his nerves. “I just…” The blond teen couldn’t finish as he sat back pushing his barely touched meal aside hoping not to throw up the little morsels that he managed to eat.

 

“I know it’s hard sweetie but they say it’s better to remember in order to cope better with life. It’ll be rough but the therapist will take it slow and steady with you. I promise you that this is for the best,” After a few moments, Jounouchi nodded reluctantly. Yomiko smiled sadly. The detective pushed the plate of food back towards the blond teen who hesitantly took the unused fork on his side of the table and started eating again. “I worry about you. I’ve been doing that since the day you were born and especially after your mom lost custody of you. She’s my best friend and I promised her ever since this crap with Daisuke started to look out for you” She chuckled bitterly. “I know, I did a shit job of that but I’ll be damned to Hell a million times over if I let that happen again. I don’t want to see you coming into that police station fucked up from head to toe and dragging a dead body behind you and I’m sure as hell not gonna deliver my friend’s son in a body bag either”

 

“What’s gonna happen once I’m out of protective custody? Will she… take me in?” Katsuya asked, a small slither of hope evident in his voice.

 

“She’s already working on the paper work to get you your citizenship in the States. Once we’re sure that the Yakuza aren’t after you anymore, you’ll be living with her and your sister in America”  Yomiko replied, feeling elated when she saw a small smile appear on the blond’s face. “In the meantime though, work hard in your studies,  and don’t go out of the Kaiba mansion.” Yomiko worried her lips as another thought concerned her. “Speaking about Kaiba,”

 

“You never told me he was a kid.”

 

“Oh yeah,” Yomiko commented. “I’m used to talking to his right hand man, Hanajima Shota. Kaiba himself, has never actually spoken a word with me. What do you make of him?”

 

“He’s an arrogant bastard… and kinda creepy.” Jounouchi said as he prodded the cold steak on his plate. He looked up from his meal noticing that the detective looked apprehensive from his statement. ”You?”

 

“He’s a smart guy, I suppose. Seems like your average disassociating teenager. Bratty, egotistical, spoilt and yet… at the same time he seems odd to me. Objectively speaking, he is the best option when it comes to Yakuza. He’s one of the few people that they tend to steer clear from.”

 

“Why is that?” Yomiko sighed as another migraine started

 

“Well…  it was another incident a couple of years ago involving Kaiba when he first took over the company after his father died from a heart attack. He doesn’t get angry very easily but everyone quickly found out two things that really pissed him off.” Yomiko explained as she went through each point. “The first is his company, no surprises there, he’d been wrestling control for it with his father for years. The second, is his brother, he loves the kid to death. Mess around with either of those two things and you are inviting yourself to the Devil’s tea party.” The detective took a sip of coffee before she continued. “Naturally, the Yakuza being Yakuza decided to fuck with them both,” Jounouchi leaned back against his chair, the steak on his plate completely abandoned. “When we finally got a lead on the group that had kidnapped Mokuba and corner them. Guess what we found?”

 

“Corpses?” Yomiko’s face became grim. Her lips were taut as if she tried not to throw up.

 

“Corpses stuffed to bursting point with bugs.” The blond throws instinctively grabbing his wrist where the maggot had burrowed itself under his skin.

 

“Bugs?” he rasped as flashes of a dark and small space came to mind followed by the sound of tiny writhing bodies squirming near his ears, nose and mouth _._ Yomiko’s words never reached his ears as he became lost in his own little world. _‘Don’t worry, t_ _hese little things are here to keep you company,’_ the words of his tormentor, Hiwatari Usaki echoed as the lid to the coffin shut off the light and horrific images of the psychotic shadowy being in his dream alternated between the cruel glint of the notorious drug lord.

 

“-ders, maggots, snakes. Anything you can think of that’s creepy or crawly it’s in there. It looked like something out of Silence of the Lambs.” Yomiko looked up when the boy didn’t seem to be listening. “Katsuya?” the blond snapped from his dazed state. “Are you alright?”

 

“Um… yeah…” he said looking at his watch. “I think I should be going back to school. Lunchtime is nearly over, I’m gonna miss my class if we don’t go now.”

 

“Kat-chan. I can believe that Kaiba will be reliable in keeping you away from the Yakuza but… I want you to try and not get too involved with him, understand?”

 

“I won’t,” Katsuya answered earnestly. He had made a point to himself that he would steer clear of the brunet as much as he was able to anyway. Yomiko smiled and asked for the check.

 

\----

 

They never spoke much on the way back to Domino High. The detective sighed as the teen got out of the car. “Thanks for lunch,” Yomiko reached over and place a kiss on the boy’s forehead.

 

“Take care of yourself sweetie,” she whispered. “I won’t let anything like that happen to you again,” Jou nodded as she drove off. He jogged back into the school building and noticed the students starting to get ready to finish up their lunch. Aware that he still had a few minutes left before his next class started, he made a detour towards the library, if anything to at least avoid Kaiba. Browsing the library, his fingers glided across the many titles as he searched for something to occupy him for a few minutes. Jou never really liked to read much but lately, being able to escape into a fictional fantasy seemed to appeal to him a lot these days. He sat in a corner and began to leaf through the book. So engrossed in the fictional world of a young dragon tamer travelling across a vast desert, he never noticed the blue-eyed teen standing nearby.

 

 

 


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warnings for rape scene ahead. It ain't pretty or romantic and it made me grossed out writing it.

He was in a dark wet and putrid smelling place filled with images of shifting shadows that hovered over him ominously.“It’s nothing personal kid, your daddy just associated himself with the wrong person and we need to make an example of such people.” A quiet chiming of a bell was heard and a cluster of hands violated every inch of skin. He felt pain, terror, sadness and humiliation from the derisive laughter that surrounded him, but the worse thing was the lecherous blue eyes that bore down on him. ”Just call it a lack of a better judgement on his part for getting too friendly with our enemy.”

He wanted to scream but was quickly silenced by something thick and large that reached to the back of his throat making him gag. The filthy hands pawed at all the most sensitive parts of his body forcing him into sexual arousal in order for his tormentors to mock him some more. His body felt like it would split apart as another member plunged into the tight ring of muscle and a coppery smell started to permeate the air as the other rutted into him like a wild beast, the movements only made more fluid due to slipperiness of his own blood coating his rapist’s cock. After what felt like eternity, the shadows seemed to falter before emptying their load into his broken body. He felt himself vomit out the sticky substance ejected from the wrinkled appendage that had previously been savagely rammed down his throat. Then just as he thought it was going to be over, the shadows shifted their positions for another round of hell as the chiming bell suddenly became louder. 

\---

Jounouchi gasped when he woke up to the sound of the bell ending his last class for the day. He dropped his head back onto his arms that he had previously used as a cushion whilst willing his pounding heart to calm down from his most recent nightmare. The images quickly started to fade from memory even though he could feel himself panicking. Taking a few deep breaths learned from the few sessions of therapy that he did attend, he slowly felt it fade. Jounouchi sat up slowly brushing his invasive fringe back to rub at his aching temple. Although it had been self-study period due to the teacher falling ill and most of the students would just kick back and relax, Jounouchi hadn’t really meant to fall asleep at school. 

It had only been a few days since he had arrived at the Kaiba household and though they seemed to drag on like years, it was for the most part peaceful. The incident of the broken lock had never been resolved but since there hadn’t been any further incident since that strange night, Jou never thought about it. He would work, keeping himself to himself in the evenings then make sure he got up early to get his morning duties done and leave for school without even saying a word to either of the Kaiba brothers. He had planned to keep doing this until the day he could go home.

‘Home’ the thought of it was becoming more foreign to him every day and nothing he did could relieve him of the oppressive numbness that had settled over him the past week. Between his nightmares and the long empty hours of sleepless nights, he wasn’t sure which felt worse. He knew he was tired but he was afraid of the onslaught of terrifying images that haunted him every time he closed his eyes.

He noticed movement, a hand looking to grab for his arm and in a flash Jounouchi reacted. He gasped, smacking the hand away before retreating back a few steps to avoid his attacker only to be met with large and hurt amethyst eyes in place of the lecherous blue of his tormentor. When he remembered where he was again, Jounouchi immediately regretted his actions. Yugi looked up at him dejectedly, nursing his hand. The small youth tried to hide his evident hurt with a small awkward smile. His boyfriend on the other hand glared daggers at the blond. 

“'That', was uncalled for” Yami said in a low and controlled voice belying the rage in his tone. He brought his lover in a protective embrace. 

“We were just coming over to say ‘hi’ since we missed you at lunch again” Ryou added with a frown on his face. His boyfriend merely gave a sadistic grin, expecting a fight to break out between the angry Yami and the blond. Yami stepped forward putting himself between Jounouchi and Yugi. 

“Apologise” he growled. Yugi’s eyes widened when he sensed the threatening pose and tugged gently on his boyfriend’s arm. 

“I-it’s alright Yami, I probably just surprised him.” He reasoned hoping to spare Jounouchi any trouble. 

“Congratulations, you finally realised that not everyone wants to be your friend especially when you keep pathetically encroaching their personal space” All heads turned towards the last member of the group who was leaning casually against a wall with his arms crossed. It had taken a few moments in Jounouchi’s mind for it to register that Kaiba had just defended him in his own strange way. He normally wanted to question it but the blond did not want to deal with anybody right now. 

“Kaiba” Yami growled at his rival but faltered when his partner started to look teary-eyed. 

“I-I’m sorry, was I really that pushy?” Yugi whimpered turning to Jounouchi. Bakura scoffed and rolled his eyes much to Ryou’s chagrin. 

“Of course not, love” Yami soothed rubbing his lover’s back then turning his anger on the brunet. Recognising the signs of a major confrontation about to unfold between the two rivals, Jounouchi intervened. 

“Look, it’s my fault at the end of the day” he mumbled turning to Yugi. “I shouldn’t have lashed out at you and I’m sorry.” The blond bowed low to the smaller teen. Yugi gasped bowing in return repeatedly and flapping his arms about in alarm.

“No, no, no Ishouldbetheoneapologising. I-was-just-worried-because-you-didn’t-seem-like-yourself-and-I-guess-I-was-only-assuming-that-since-we’ve-only-known-you-for-a-few-days-to-tell-but-still-I….” Yugi then took a deep breath after the tirade of words spilling from his mouth. “Are you sure you’re ok Wheeler-kun? Did something bad happen to you?” 

Jounouchi was taken aback from the small teen’s genuine concern about him. Naive as he seemed, given in any other circumstances, he might’ve been best friends with Yugi. The blond inwardly berated himself for worrying the smaller teen then forced a smile of reassurance. “I’ll be alright. Thank you for your concern. I’ve got to go now. See you on Monday.” He could tell Yugi wasn’t convinced and made his exit as quick as possible. 

“W-wait Wheeler-kun!” he heard the boy call which only made him walk faster. 

He had already dashed out of the building pass the school gate and ran quite a way down the street before finally slowing down. He sighed deeply brushing the golden locks from his eyes before walking slowly towards the usual route to the Kaiba mansion. 

“You know he’s just going to end up following you around at school from now on, pup?” Jou closed his eyes squeezing his temple in frustration at another potential confrontation. He turned towards the billionaire teen who was sat in his limo with the window down. The driver got out to open the door. “Get in,” Jounouchi hesitated as he hadn’t spoken with Kaiba since his first day of school. Today was Friday however and he was about to be working over the weekend so whether he liked it or not, the blond would have to end up talking to him again at some point. He stepped inside the leather interior and watched dully at the scene passing by when the limo started moving again. “Want a drink?” the teen billionaire offered gesturing at the small range of beverages. The mundane cans of soda and children’s juice cartons looked out of place in the luxury vehicle.

“Cream soda please,” he replied and the brunet handed him a can and a straw. Jounouchi wasn’t sure what was with the change of heart with the brunet but then again this was the first time he had properly spoken with Kaiba since he first arrived and his impressions of him wasn’t good. The conversation with Yomiko as well laid quite heavy on his mind and he had taken her advice to keep contact with the brunet to a minimal. More silence fell between the two and the blonde settled to staring back out of the window chewing on the straw he was drinking from while staring at the scenery.“What’s on your mind?”

“Nothing” Jounouchi replied automatically refusing to look at Kaiba.

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah…”Jounouchi didn’t need to look to know how intensely Kaiba was staring at him or that the brunet was probably thinking of what he wanted to say to him. The blond though also knew what he was going to say to try to coax a reaction out of him.

“Yomiko told me about your old man.” Seto began. “I’d figured you to be a bit more broken up about it.”

‘Bingo’ Jounouchi thought, praising himself for foreseeing where the conversation was going. 

“He got what was coming to him. Anybody who messes with crime syndicates are bound to get killed at some point, right?” Jounouchi was surprised however when the brunet suddenly growled angrily at his offhand comment about his own father. 

“That’s not how it was like,” the other hissed, his eyes glared at him filled with intense fury that Jounouchi had never seen. He flinched from the outburst but noticed immediately, the odd look in Kaiba’s face. The brunet quickly regained his composure and sat back, his expression unusually softer than Jounouchi was used to seeing. Kaiba’s eyes widened slightly as if he had come into a realisation. He let out a soft chuckle before the familiar mask of mocking indifference returned. “You can’t seriously tell me that you believe everything that woman has said. Do you?” Jounouchi would’ve normally wondered about the sudden outburst of emotion but just presently couldn’t bring himself to care enough about it. 

“He did keep a lot of secrets from me”

“But you don’t believe it. Do you Mutt?”

Jounouchi didn’t answer for a long time opting to look out of the window again. It would’ve been so much easier to just believe the story that Yomiko described. The oppressive numbness he had been feeling all week intensified into a huge wave. It was overwhelming and the world he passed by seemed to blur before something wet escaped and ran down his cheek. He swiped it away and bit his lip trying to stop anymore tears from spilling out.

“No. He’s a moron with a stupid grin on his stupid, stupid face.He’s a liar and the worse dad in the world but he’d never get involved in stuff like that. ‘Fucking Yakuza ain’t got no honour’ he’d say.. ” Jounouchi paused for a moment, half expecting the brunet to interject with some snide remark but Kaiba remained silent. “They never even mentioned drugs when I was being held captive.” 

“Then it was for revenge.” It wasn’t exactly correct, Jounouchi thought but it was close enough. His old man had not been a direct threat to the Yakuza but he had gotten involved with someone that was and it seemed clear that the interaction was enough to incite their wrath. Exhausted as he felt in body and spirit, Jounouchi knew he had to investigate the matter. He needed to find out who this person was. For some reason though the blonde found he was having trouble thinking straight and his whole body felt really heavy as the oppressive numbness he had been feeling was being washed away with something worse. “With this knowledge what are you going to do? Will you tell the detective?” the words from the brunet became lost in the tumult of thoughts as Jounouchi struggled to keep calm from the surge of emotions that surfaced. He felt his entire body shake as he felt tears run down his face. He went back to wiping them away from his eyes with his sleeve trying to stop the wave of grief wracking his being. 

“I don’t know, I don’t know anymore.” At that moment everything broke down in to heart wrenching sobs.“I can’t… I can’t do this… not on my own” Jounouchi whimpered as his grief resonated throughout his entire body. He didn’t care anymore what anyone thought least of all the brunet in front of him. Had the blonde been able to see through the film of tears that blurred his vision, he would’ve noticed shock followed by concern on Kaiba’s face. Jounouchi wasn’t even fully aware when the other sidled next to him and wrapped an arm around him bringing him close in a tender embrace. He could hear and feel nothing but his own wails of the loss of his father. 

“Jounouchi Daisuke ‘was’ a good man,” it was the last thing Jounouchi heard from the brunet before the exhaustion took over and everything faded away. 

\---

Mokuba was staring daggers at the half completed page of math equations in front of him and cursed the person who came up with the concept of homework. Eying his bag, which contained something that was far more interesting for a 13 year old, the younger Kaiba brother contemplated whether he should take a break. All thought of games and homework however were dashed when his bodyguard tapped him on the shoulder. He looked up and grinned at the large limo pulling up and shoved everything into his school bag before running out of the library diving straight into the open door. The boy’s energetic grin turned into shock and then dismay within ten seconds of seeing the pitiful sight in front of him. Mokuba looked over to his brother who had his arms wrapped around Jounouchi’s waist while the blonde’s head rested against his shoulder. With unusual tenderness that only Mokuba had ever been privy to, the elder Kaiba wiped away the tear-stained face then made a call on his phone. 

“Yes Kaiba-sama?” came the overtly cheerful voice of Kaiba’s personal secretary. 

“Matsuri tell Shota to set up the holograph equipment for my 5 o’clock. I’ll be conducting the meeting from home. He can send me any information regarding the schematics.”

“Understood sir” the secretary replied. She had learnt very quickly and efficiently not to question her employer’s reasoning and work ethic as it had kept her in the job for years. Hanging up the brunet leaned his head against the cushioned interior, the feelings of exhaustion starting to appear on his face. 

“Do you think we should tell him?” there were unshed tears in Mokuba’s eyes. “I mean he does have a right to know.”

“I know that.” Seto snapped making his brother cringe. He immediately sent him an apologetic look then sighed. “We just need to work up to it. Let’s just him sleep for now though. I slipped him a sedative to help with the nightmares so he’ll be out of it for a while.” The brunet twirled Jounouchi’s used straw in between his fingers before placing it back into the can. The younger Kaiba’s eyes widened then narrowed into a frown. 

“If I didn’t know you better, I’d be actually disturbed here.” Mokuba turned his attention to the sleeping blonde. “He does look a lot like Jounouchi oji-san,” More tears formed in his eyes as his own grief filled his heart. 

“They’re getting what’s coming to them Mokie,” Seto replied, cold blue eyes flashed with a hint of maniacal madness. “I’ll make sure of it.”


	5. Chapter 5

Blurry visions of shadowed figures shuffled back and forth and he heard alarmed voices all around him but he couldn’t comprehend anything being said in his drug induced state.  He could smell the faint scent of cinnamon and felt himself being lifted up and carried away. More voices were heard, most were panic stricken but one stood out commanding the rest for silence then murmured quietly to him in reassurance. He tried to focus but soon enough he succumbed to his weariness and began to dream of the blue eyes that was staring down at him. Familiar blue eyes that he thought he had seen a few years ago.

 

\----

 

_Jounouchi glared intensely at the wall as his call went straight to voicemail relaying monotonously back to him that the irresponsible prick he had been trying to contact was still not answering. Filled with a tumultuous rage and a deep sense of dread that would result in him tearing apart the landline, Jou slammed the receiver back down into the cradle for the sixteenth time that day and went to rub his sleep deprived eyes._

_“Where the hell is he?” he muttered under his breath unable to keep the worrying thoughts circulating in his mind. Taking a deep breath and willing back frustrated tears from falling, he picked up the receiver once more when he heard a familiar rattle against his apartment door and the jingle of keys. Holding his breath Jou watched intently as the door opened and his father stepped into the room looking like he had just been to Hell and wrestled with some of the residents there. Jounouchi Daisuke looked up with a frown and blinked owlishly at his son before checking his cracked watch._

_“Katsuya, you’re supposed to be in b-“ Daisuke was immediately silenced as he felt the air knock out of him from the flying kick to his stomach by the enraged 15 year old._

_“YOU STUPID, MORONIC, IRRESPONSIBLE, ASS OF A FATHER! YOU JUST UP AND LEAVE FOR THREE DAYS WITHOUT EVEN A WORD OR A TEXT? I ALMOST HAD TO CALL THE GOD DAMN POLICE THIS TIME!” He felt his voice start to crack but it wouldn’t have stopped his infuriated rant.  In fact, had it not been for the frightened scrawny figures that were hanging back at the front door Jounouchi would do a lot more than just kick his dad in the stomach and yell at him. The taller of the two, just a couple of inches shorter than Jou himself, stared defiantly with piercing blue eyes whilst using his lanky form to shield the tiny long headed child. They were covered head to toe in dirt. Their clothes were torn and grimy and Jou cringed slightly at the numerous cuts and bruises on the two boys. Feeling more than a little awkward at his sudden outburst, Jou threw one last glare at the whining man hugging his stomach then ruffled his own hair nervously. He looked away from the two frightened boys and sighed. “It’s not much but there’s some leftover food in the fridge over there. I’ll go heat up some water and get some bandages. I’m sure you’ll both want to have a bath and dress those cuts.” He flashed a warm smile at the surprised teen before hurrying towards the small cupboard in the room he shared with his dad. Looking over at the still prone man, Jounouchi clicked his tongue irritably and went to grab the first aid kit and some clean towels. He wet a hand towel with some warm water and tossed it over to the man to clean his face while he started preparing the dressing. He opened a fresh bag of antiseptic wipes and cleaned around the worst of the man’s gashes._

_“Ow, ow, ow… be gentle there Katsu-chan. That really hurts.”_

_“Quit being a baby and man up will you?” Jou snapped. Despite his irritation he cleaned a little more carefully around the wound to avoid it stinging further. “…and stop calling me Katsu-chan. I’m not 4 years old.” Daisuke pouted but there was humour and love in his eyes as he let his son wrap dressing around his wounds._

_“I’m sorry I worried you son,” Daisuke patted the blond head affectionately as he said it making Jounouchi feel further awkward from his earlier outburst. Not that it mattered to their neighbours. Many were night shift workers and arguments were a constant feature in this particular apartment complex that they lived in._

_“Well, quit being an idiot and actually call every now and then so that I know that you’re at least still alive. Honestly, who’s supposed to be the adult here?” Daisuke chuckled at his son’s disgruntled tone grinning from ear to ear. Jou rolled his eyes at the man who seemed oblivious of how irresponsible he was. Some folks described Jounouchi Daisuke as eccentric but most of them thought he was downright crazy and sadly, Jou’s mom had also thought this as well. It was hardly surprising considering the strange things that his father did. He knew Daisuke was not ‘normal’ or whatever the crazy society of today defined normal anyway. Drawing strange symbols on the walls, buying huge bags of salt and other weird things that looked like dried out bits of dead animal that came straight out of a horror movie was not the everyday occurrence of a typical family man.  The worse thing he did though was the strange chanting of some unknown dead language almost every night and that was what eventually ended the marriage. Despite the evident creepiness, Jou couldn’t bring himself to leave his dad. He knew that in his heart that Jounouchi Daisuke was a good man. As strange as Daisuke’s behaviour was, no one was hurt by his actions and Jounouchi defended the man vehemently whenever people tried to pin perfectly explainable situations on his father’s “witchcraft”.  What proved it though were the few clients that came by the man’s door from time to time. The look of adoration and gratitude in their eyes, of being saved from something that no one ‘normal’ could ever hope to comprehend. Jou knew this much. Whether he believed the supernatural forces that his father was involved in was another thing up for debate but from the looks on the people, his father had helped them and that was all Jou needed. He had hoped his mom could’ve thought the same thing. Nevertheless, he still watched his mother and sister leave. He hadn’t seen either of them for 5 years._

_A moment of silence came into the room before Jou was finished and went to prepare more dressing for the two guests when he became keenly aware of blue eyes staring at him. The little one was busy shovelling food as if there were no tomorrow but what struck Jounouchi cold were the otherworldly stare of the mysterious teenager that his father had brought back home._

_“Katsuya, go to bed now,” the older man barked snapping Jou out of his reverie._

_“Dad-“_

_“Now!” Daisuke growled. His voice was fierce and commanding yet Jou sensed a touch of fear mixed in. The younger blond was confused by this but his father flashed a reassuring smile while taking the first aid kit from his hands. “Don’t worry, I’ll handle things here. You got school later don’t you?” It’s Sunday. Jou wanted to point that out to the man but the haunted look on the man’s face stopped him._

_“Fine, whatever,” Jou grumbled shuffling away to his room. Even though he worried, the tiredness of several sleepless nights had won over him._

 

\---

 

His body felt heavy and ached all over making him wonder if he was ill. Jounouchi lay on his back, his eyes still closed, trying to make sense of how he had got here. Everything felt hazy and he struggled to remember what had happened to him. Slowly, the memories started to trickle in. ‘Yakuza, Kaiba, Yomiko, the shooting, the nightmares,’ Jounouchi mentally listed and felt himself chuckle that perhaps everything was nothing but one crazy dream. His dad was going to knock on his door looking sheepish because he had made another huge mess in the kitchen in his vain attempt at cooking breakfast for his son. Jounouchi sighed knowing he would have to get out of bed to help clean up and make breakfast again as the food that his old man was preparing was probably burnt to cinders. He would scowl and do a short rant whilst the elder Jounouchi would be scratching the back of his head and apologising profusely before they sat down to have breakfast. A short moment of silence later and the two would start a conversation about random things.

 

Jou chuckled some more to himself and waited… and waited. He opened his eyes. Tears started to form in them followed by the familiar lump in his throat when he saw that he wasn’t in his room. A whimper escaped his lips then he sat up on the huge bed and wrapped his arms around himself, despairing when his fingers brushed against the rough surface of one of his numerous scars. More memories flooded back ending with him remembering that he had broken down sobbing like a small child in Kaiba’s limo before passing out. Biting his lip he glanced over at the clock on his bedside table. 10:23am Sat. Sighing, Jounouchi got out of bed and took his time to get ready for work. He was already hours late for his shift so another half hour wasn’t going to make a difference. He did wonder though why no one bothered to call him to get him up for his first weekend shift.

\---

The hallway was strangely quiet when he set foot out of his room and he let out an involuntary shudder. A flash of red and a rancid smell filled his nostrils making him flinch and stagger backwards and he grimaced at stepping into something wet and sticky. Looking beneath him he gasped noticing the large puddle of crimson. He closed his eyes and swallowed willing the nausea to go away. The feeling of dread subsided and when he opened his eyes, there was just blue carpet. Jou sighed noticing the slip of yellow paper stuck to his door. ‘Go to the dining room’. It said.

 

‘Where is everyone?’ was the question that pervaded his thoughts as he made his way down the corridor that he had finally memorised. His room in the east wing was the furthest from the dining hall and in his long trek through the winding hallways he had yet to see any of the numerous maids that usually scurried around everywhere. The mansion seemed completely abandoned. Although he tended to avoid any social gathering and gossiping girls who tried to sneak in an extra break or two, there was a slight comfort and a sense of normality knowing that they were there. Right now, the emptiness was akin to standing on the edge of a knife and he became increasingly more aware of the eerie surroundings. The floor boards beneath him groaned and echoed into the emptiness and he felt like the very walls seemed to close in on him. The very pattern on the wallpaper made Jou think of soulless eyes watching his every move. Eventually, after coming towards the huge set of double doors where the dining area was, he heard the quiet sound of chopsticks scraping against bowls. The creak of unoiled hinges in the door felt deafening when Jounouchi entered the dining area but the Kaiba brothers seemed unfazed by what he felt was a rather cumbersome entrance.

 

They were sitting at the huge table again with Mokuba gulping the last of a bowl of miso soup while the elder was delicately dividing a piece of grilled fish and nibbling on a bowl of rice. Both the brothers were dressed in casual wear or in Kaiba’s case a black turtle neck and dark blue jeans minus belt buckles and other flashy accessories. The scene was surreal in the domestic nature of it. When Mokuba noticed him, he grinned and gestured towards the seat next to him where a third readymade and perfectly cooked traditional Japanese breakfast was laid out on the table. There was no one else around, so presumably the third breakfast was for Katsuya specifically. He looked between the two brothers, wondering if it was just a little prank in which he was going to be yelled at by Menashi but even the stalwart butler was nowhere to be seen and he was at least nearby usually.

 

“Don’t just stand there Jounouchi, your food is going to go cold,” Mokuba said out loud. Katsuya snapped out of his reverie and particularly with the sudden lack of formality this morning. One last scan around the room for other servants and when he found none, Jounouchi slid into the chair. Mokuba smiled before messily tear apart his omelette. Jounouchi turned his gaze over towards the elder Kaiba who was also, for once eating albeit his own breakfast with the precision of a doctor and his surgical knife. Aside from the bizarreness of their surroundings and the fact that Jounouchi had been working/living with the Kaiba’s for only a few days, it was surprisingly domestic.

 

“Where is everyone?” he asked moving his food around in a non-committal manner despite the obvious nervousness he felt at the pit of his stomach.

 

“It’s the weekend. Nobody works at the mansion here. Well, except Seto and Shota.” Mokuba grinned. “Technically, you’re contracted to be working as well but, it’s not like we will need you to do much for us. Seto usually lets me have a pizza and my favourite chocolate sundae.”

 

“What about security? Surely a huge place like this would need bodyguards?”

 

“Trust me, Shota is more than capable to handle personal security,” Mokuba waved dismissively. “You don’t have to worry about keeping your name secret around him like the other servants either.”  Then the boy’s eyes lit up with eager anticipation. “Hey, want to play some games with me? We’ve got all the consoles and all the latest titles.”

 

“Homework first,” Kaiba interjected, while taking a sip of his own miso soup.

 

“But big brother… it’s Saturday.”

 

“And the sooner you’ve done it, the sooner you’ll get to do what you want. You’ve had most of the morning watching your cartoons.”

 

“You know you watch them too” Mokuba pouted but then a wide impish grin grew on his face. “Ah… you’re trying to act the adult today because a certain someone is actually sitting with us to enjoy this meal.” The elder Kaiba stared impassively at his younger brother. Mokuba stared back defiantly, pouting his lips when he found something slimy, sticky and smelly fly forward and smacked to his forehead. Leaping up with indignant horror, he tried to brush the offending piece of food out of his face.

 

“Gross! Who eats natto in this day and age, big brother, you weirdo!” Mokuba squawked and flapped in the most undignified way that Jou could ever imagine as the child tried to brush away with limited success the stringy strands that trailed from the clump of fermented soybean while his older brother remained impassive as if he had not just thrown food across the table. Within the pit of Jounouchi’s stomach, something felt like it was bubbling to the surface, a release of sorts and he heard a sound that he hadn’t in a long time, laughter. If it wasn’t more surreal enough the laughter was coming from him. For a moment, Jounouchi thought he had lost what remained of his sanity but the small chuckle turned into belly aching chortles where he almost had trouble breathing. He didn’t care from the odd looks the two Kaiba brothers were giving him but the younger certainly looked pleased with himself as he joined in with the laughter.

 

“Feeling better?” Kaiba asked after Jounouchi’s giggling reduced to gasps and petering out to a satisfied sigh.

 

“Much…” he replied sheepishly.

 

“It wasn’t ‘that’ funny.” Kaiba added looking perplexed.

 

“No…” Jounouchi agreed, another giggle escaping his lips. Had he been looking, he would’ve noticed the slight pink appear on the blue eyed teen’s cheeks. “But I think I needed it…” he added.

 

\----

 

The rather surreal domesticity continued on throughout the day, mostly with Mokuba’s eternal brightness. They had spent the early afternoon catching up on homework assignments which despite Mokuba’s complaining earlier, he did do quickly and efficiently especially with guidance from his older brother. Jounouchi sighed as he finished the last of his mathematics paper when Kaiba looked over towards him.

 

“What?”  

 

“I will need to check your homework.  Since you’ve just recently transferred and considering your background of being affiliated with a questionable group in your last school, I’m guessing you might struggle with your studies here. It’s also a requirement from Domino High; their policy dictates that they will only allow you to have a job if you keep up with your grades. They also check up on your employer, in other words me and ensure that I’m not giving you too much work.” The blue eyed brunet explained as he took the papers and scanned through them noting, with surprise that the formulas used were indeed correct. Kaiba also checked his history and literature papers as well.  Jounouchi did feel a little affronted by the obvious insinuation. Granted he did try to keep up the stereotype of the of a delinquent, going as far as joining a gang back in his middle school days and deliberately dumbing down his grades but he had hoped that he was able to let that image go now that he had technically started a new life. Being a kid in a broken household and having a crazy kook for a father was more than enough of a reason to be bullied for, so Jounouchi had made it a point to be more than a little vicious to garner respect from most of the kids to steer clear and make his academics average enough so he didn’t attract stronger bullies into making him do their assignments for them. That was, at least until last year and his thoughts came full circle to those specific memories that had surfaced when he woke up. He stared at the teen, in particular the blue eyes that scanned each word on his papers and everything seemed to click together. Jounouchi had only needed an opportunity to confront business mogul about it. Kaiba hummed in what Jounouchi could only think as impressed. “I never pegged you to be the type to be studious.”

 

The moment appeared and Jounouchi let out a tremulous breath. “I never pegged you to be the type to be into the occult.” The illusion of domesticity shattered instantly. The brunet froze and the semi-friendly mask was replaced by the glacial coldness that Jounouchi had seen on the first day of his arrival. The blonde swallowed as the look confirmed his suspicions. Kaiba smirked and the blue eyes seemed to almost glow.

 


End file.
